Love's Not What It Seems
by MagicalMemories
Summary: Tea Gardner used to love life, she also loved a very special guy in her life. But when he uttered four foul words to her ears her world came tumbling down. Like they say, be careful about crushes, you could get crushed along with it!
1. Summary

**Disclaimer: Well, you guys know; My stories can never amount to the greatness that is the YGO manga/show!**

A/N(1): Okay, I've had this idea for a long time and it got me thinking through the whole of the story (which I rarely do, explanation for most of my unfinished (and mostly unpublished) stories and FF. So I _finally_ had to write it down (plot, idea etc.) It wouldn't evacuate my mind for ages!

A/N(2):Some words might (must) be spelt wrong, since it's my story and it's a late hour to ask anyone to Beta it. But don't worry, I'll try to fix any future mistakes.

A/N(3):It might be slightly AU (Altenative Universe) because of some friendships, (Yami's blindness for Tea (as much as I want them together)), and stuff like that. Ah, well, ye're supposed to know the meaning of AU!LoL

A/N(4):Quick editing can _suck _sometimes!

Title_:Love's Not What It Seems_

:_Summary_

_Tea Gardner used to love life, love everything. And she loved a very special guy in her life. But when he uttered four afwul words to her ears her whole world came crashing down. A tsunami came and went, tornado messing her perfect life up. And only because of him. Well, it's true then, be careful about crushes -don't go too far or else _you'll_ be crushed. But the new Tea isn't going to be like any normal girl, crying her eyes out. She'll try to lead a new life, forget him and all. And it starts to work when she creates a new IM account and meets a nice stranger who is willing to help her through._

_But is this new stranger just a joker, a horndog, or a person who feels for Tea enough to help her get her happiness back?_


	2. 1: Change

**Disclaimer: I do not own YGO, though as much as I'd love to, Kazuki Takahashi owns this awesome show/manga. Or is it just the manga? Whatever!**

**A/N(1); **Not exactly AU at the beginning since she's just gonna changing through the course of the story.

**A/N(2):**Enjoy! That's all

Title:_ Love's Not What It Seems_

Chapter One: _Change..._

Tea was lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Thoughts crossed her mind from the past. Thoughts about her crush on Yami, Yugi's darker half, who now was not exactly a half of him. Everybody knew Yami to be Yugi's twin who had been in boarding school in America. She remembered the time she was about to tell Yami about her crush on him only to have him excitedly interrupt her with a bit of his own news.

News that broke her heart. And it still was in bits of glazed-over ice.

"Tea! Get up!" Tea's mum yelled from the kitchen. Tea groaned loudly and muttered to herself about getting up too early.

"I'm already up, mum!" Came her tired voice.

"Get _out_ of bed!" Her mum knew her so well that it seemed she could read her mind at the worst of times. Tea had intended to pretend to be sick the night before-hand. Or be late so she wouldn't have to see Yami in homeroom or get a seat next to him, like she did before, because all the class would be there and no one liked to sit in the front row and it would definitely have left her with the one or two optional seats in front. It would also mean that she might actually have been able to pay attention in class for once.

Tea flipped over so that her face was buried in her pillow. Oh how she wished she had never heard those four simple words. It had wrecked her whole life! It really had. She lost her interest in dancing because the _ex_-most important person to her didn't exactly cheer her on anymore about it. She had payed even less attention in classes than usual. Her parents hadn't been proud of her last semesters report card. She had lost herself in the wave of emotion that had wrecked everything for her. She couldn't find a reason anymore to repair what was broken.

"Don't make me come up there!" Tea groaned again and muttered colourful words about the morning. She had certantly lost her interest for the morning, the sun even. Her parents noticed that. They noticed everything change about her.

It began with how she never called back her friends after school, always declined any invitation to hang out with them that got them curious about her whereabouts. They had thought that she had found herself a boyfriend and so blew off all her friends to hang out with him. They hadn't liked it one bit. Her father had sat her down and lectured her for an hour about the issue at hand. Only at the end had she told him that she had no boyfriend and that she had let her interest in a special guy slip away. It startled her parents.

They loved her very dearly and would do anything to see her happy. But no matter what they did, nothing worked.

"Tea Gardner! I mean it, and if I go up there the pancake I just put on might burn and it'll be your one!" Tea had noted that her parents didn't exactly see a difference in her eating habits. She hated pancakes now. It was a dessert _he_ had taken a liking to when she introduced had it to him. Tea hated anything he liked. And he liked a _lot_ of things.

She detested Duel Monster games, shows that he loved, food that he liked, places that he adored, and friends that he cared about.

She knew it wasn't her _friend's_ faults that they hadn't noticed her change, but she still preffered to blame them for not noticing a change of a _best friend._ They had rarely talked to her at lunch since the whole world-threatning had stopped. They were preoccupied by showing Yami things, places and such stuff.

A knock came upon her door, "Tea, hun. Come on, or else you're going to be late for school," came her mum's voice, only genlte this time. Tea scrunched up her face. 'Hun' had reminded her of Mai, a friend who still bothered to call, and being a girl, noticed the new Tea. The _colder_ one.

"Fine!" Tea quickly stumbled out of her bed and looked around. She saw that the door was slightly opened and that her mother was peaking in. She marched over and banged it shut in her mum's face. She could hear her mother's soft sigh.

"Breakfast will be ready when you're finished with the morning routine,"and with that her steps were heard on the slightly creaky staircase.

Tea sighed loudly. She hadn't intented to hurt her parents, she tried not to, but she still maneged it. She looked around again and spotted her uniform on her computer chair, just where she had left it after she washed it last year after school finished for the summer. She picked it up and brought it up to her nose to smell. It smelled fine. She quickly put it on without taking a shower like she always did before and looked at herself in her long mirror. She had a slight goth aura about herself. She used to be afraid of somehow looking like a goth in public or in privacy. Now she didn't give a load about what people might think of her.

_Probably nothing good or 'cool'._She thought.

She thought for a while longer trying to kill some time. Then she remembered where she had supposedly put her school shoes. She got down on all fours and looked under her bed. Reaching a hand out she got her brown school shoes and looked at them oddly. She remembered that she thought they looked cool last year. Now she practically saw loafers! She dropped them and walked up to her wardrobe. Her style was slightly tilted to punk now. More skinny jeans and funny t-shirts. She reached down and got out her black strapped boots. Now she was gonna rock her uniform look.

_So what if I get in trouble?!_Tea quickly put them on and looked at the mirror. Even before she would have preffered them to the brown 'loafered' school shoes.

She had also changed her usual school bag for her new favourite messenger bag. She looked closely at her face and bit her lip lightly. She wanted to put on some make-up but not too much. She walked to her dresser and opened the top drawer and got her make-up bag out. She searched for her usual black eyeliner. She rarely used it before so it looked brand new. Putting on a thin line under her bottom lashed she did the same on the top ones. She put the liner back and looked at the mascara.

_Too messy, and might look too much_. With that she was ready. Only ten more minutes and she'd need to get to school. It was a twenty minute walk, she knew she could strech it out to be a little bit late. The only problem was that she'd have to pass the Mutou's household.

_Scars remind me of too much. But whatever, Yugi was always early to get to school so Yami must usualy tag along after him at the early hour_. But then the worst moment came. The voice of Mai Valentine drifted up to her bedroom. She groaned quietly and began her walk down the stairs after closing her door.

As soon as Tea reached the bottom step her mother and Mai were staring at her.

"Hey, hun. Thought I could give you a ride to school. Nice boots though I'd wear heels instead." Mai smirked forgetting Tea's mum was right next to her.

"Yeah, change needed from those stupid 'loafers'." Was all Tea said before she grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water and was out the front door without so much as a 'goodbye' to her mother.

"Well, thank you for the pancakes Mrs. Gardner, they're delicious. Bye, then," Mai waved goodbye and followed suit by going out the front door, closing it quickly and rushing up to her car.

_This is gonna be a long day_, Tea thought as Mai got in the driver's seat of her car.


	3. 2:Can alter oneself a lot

**Disclaimer: You know what to expect! I don't own YGO or anything that seems that I no ownage over, unless I say I have the ownage!**

**A/N(1):**Hey! Thanks to anyone who reviewed on the last chapter. I'm hoping for more soon! (Hint, hint*)LoL

**A/N(2): **This chapter's mostly going to be about the conversation between Tea and Mai.

**A/N(3):**All I have left to say is 'Enjoy...'

Title:_ Love's Not What It Seems_

Chapter Two:_...Can alter oneself entirely as it should_.

_This is gonna be a long day_, was Tea's thought as Mai got in, slamming the driver's door quickly shut and stepping on the gas as soon as she had her seatbelt on.

"So, how was your holiday?" Mai was obviously nervous since Tea always chatted away whenever Mai used to pick her up before.

"Okay," was the only word Tea replied with. Her voice was glum and slighty muffled by her hand, which she was resting her chin on.

Mai thought carefully. Tea's mother had told her about the '_change_' over the last five months. Mai had also thought it could have been over some guy but she was proved wrong about it. Mai noticed Tea wasn't bothering to keep up with the small talk. And small talk was always so awkward at first, especially when you barely anything to talk about that was a safe subject. Mai quickly stole a glance at the younger girl sitting next to her. Tea's hair had grown past her shoulder blades and was nearly about half way down her back. It looked slightly darker than before.

But what scared Mai was Tea's eyes; as lifeless as they were. The usual shimmering ocean blue orbs were now lifeless irises. As no longer looking glamorously blue, they were grey looking with only a tint of the past shimmering blue there. From afar they might have seemed to still be blue, maybe a cobat blue but up close they were stripped of the blue and the happiness.

"Well, what did you do to make it only 'okay'?" Mai asked and, biting down on the nervous feeling, added, "And maybe I can get more than one word this time?" Tea looked away from Mai, keeping her eyes on some of the students who were making their way to school. Tea knew she'd never be late at this rate.

Suddenly an idea came to her. They still hadn't passed McDonalds and with that idea in her mind and her being not have eaten breakfast it was a perfect excuse. She remembered that she was still holding her granola bar and the bottle of water. She never really liked granola bars so that wouldn't be so much of a problem. The water wasn't a problem either.

Then Tea remembered that Mai was still waiting for her to reply and with more than one word.

"I just stayed at home, that's all. Um...I didn't grab any breakfast so could we pull over at McDonalds?" Tea was afraid that Mai mightn't fall for it but it seemed that Mai only wanted to get the truth out of her with anyway technique possible.

So with a suspicious look from Mai, Tea opened her mouth to say something else when Mai whistfully smiled and as they came cloder to the turn for McDonalds she switched lane and made the turn.

" You should have ate the granola bar," was what came out of Mai's mouth in a hushed tone.

"I never really liked these bars, actually," Tea tried smiling sheepishly, hoping that Mai wouldn't rush her too much. So far Tea's plan was working fine.

But then with surprise Tea noticed that Mai was going for the drive through instead of the restaurant.

Mai sensed Tea's discomfort as she pulled up to the drive through order machine. She finally figured that Tea had no intention of being on time to school and that drove her suspicioned my mind crazy.

So now, if asked Mai had to say that she basically helped Tea be late. _Why do I get myself into these messes?!_

"Please state your order."

Tea edged closer to the ordering machine, "I would like a medium packet of fries and...um...er, a hamburger and...," She was cut off by Mai hushed voice.

"Just order and you can eat in the car in the parking lot without rushing." Tea could see that Mai was frustrated by her behavour.

"Actually just fries and the hamburger, please." Tea felt more calmer since Mai wasn't going to rush her.

" Please drive to the pick up window, ma'am."

Mai slowly drove around to the pick up window and just as she stopped the worker popped the burger in and turned around, smiling, and gave the bag to Tea, who didn't bother smiling.

Mai quickly found a spot in the parking lot and stopped the car, cutting the engine.

"So how was your summer?" Tea knew that sometimes Mai could rant on and on about a topic at hand. But Mai disappointed Tea by only saying a few words.

"I mainly worked, and got little time with the sun. Working for Kaiba sure is hard at times." Mai smiled slightly why she came to pick up Tea when she should have been at work. Kaiba's icy heart had melted a bit during the summer, meaning he didn't push everyone around as much as he used to. He had let Mai take a day off. And Mai wanted to spend some quality time with her friends.

"Hmm, work, can't say I'll be exactly happy to leave school this year." Tea mused over it. Last year she had wanted to leave school and work as a Dance teacher, but now that bubble had popped loudly and so she had no back up idea for her career. And she knew that she needed to find herself a job this year. She had always wanted to live in an apartment and her motives were driven further since her parents had become a bit too much to handle lately.

"Well, you still wanna be a dance teacher, right?" Mai's body was now facing Tea.

"Well, I was thinking that it's not a safe bet for a career. I mean, it's all I mainly skilled myself in and I didn't bother with much else. I should have a safe harbour that I can swim back to if anything fails." Now that Tea looked at it that way, she knew she was right. But the tiny bit that was still the same old Tea Gardner in her was yearning to dance. She sometimes couldn't keep it in her body and so decided to block herself off from that connection.

"Well, I suppose so." Mai didn't like what Tea was doing to herself. If she was hurting then she should come to her friends or family. Mai had always told her that they were best friends and could tell eachother anything. But Tea obviously had other ideas about it.

This made Mai angry; seeing one of her best girl-friends hurting and trying to hide it from her. Mai knew she had had enough. Enough of Tea's bu****it change. Mai couldn't bare to see her like that.

_So it's time to bite the dust!_Mai thought angrily

"Okay, I'll tell it to you strainght, Tea," Mai rarely called anyone by their name, using 'hun' instead, even for Kaiba," I've had enough of this change and I'm sure so have your parents! Stop acting so weird and not like your usual self! Answer properly like you used to. Chat away like you used to. Smile and laugh like you used to! Be the person you really are, not this ice glazed person you've become. I'm begging you! As your _best friend_ I ask you to tell me what's wrong!" Mai strongly looked at Tea.

Tea knew she couldn't keep it in anymore. She knew she _had_ to tell someone. It wasn't the dirtiest secret in the world. And Mai was the best person and friend to tell. She had cried endlessly every night, thinking that she mightn't be understood her problem.

And with that knowing thought running through her head, Tea let her protective fall, smashing hard against the truth. All the emotions kept with her walls were free to manipulate her now.

As Tea let a tear slip, all of them broke and spilled over the edges, leaving Tea to collapse on Mai and cry her eyes out again.

**A/N(4): **Yeah, okay, this chapter was all about the start of the conversation, so it mightn't be worth that much to ye but it's an important part of the story and I don't wanna rush things here.

**A/N(5): **The next chapter will be up by the end of today or in the late evening. Sorry. But I felt so guilty leaving only this for today that I knew I had to update more very soon.

A/N(6): Hope ye all enjoyed ( not this chapter alone, exactly) this update. And remember... Reviews are always welcome with hugs!=^__^=


	4. 3:Explanation for letting everything go

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Kazuki Takahashi owns this brilliant manga/show! **

**A/N(1):** Well, hey there, remember that I promised another chapter today? Well here it is, like promised!

**A/N(2):** Again this chapter might (must) have spelling mistakes, since I'm the author and my usual Beta isn't at home at the moment. She's at school while I'm stuck at home with a sore throat and stuffed nose!

**A/N(3): **Yes, last chapter was _all_ about Tea and Mai's conversation! Sorry, I could have made it longer but you know how I like it, going slowly!_ Don't _tell me what that sounds like! And that was only half!LoL

**A/N(4):** Sorry if anybody feels offended by the goth bit in this chapter. It is not intended to hurt or offend anybody. I swear!

Title: _Love's Not What It Seems_

Chapter Three: _The Tale of letting Everything Go_.

Mai rubbed circles on Tea's back as Tea cried her eyes out. Mai didn't interrupt to ask why all this, she knew to wait a while for Tea to calm down and tell her at her own pace. Mai had been afraid that Tea wouldn't take up the offer of having Mai help her find her way out of this mess. But Mai knew it wouldn't be simple, as did Tea, since Tea barely got worked up over much. Now was different and Mai was head strong about helping her best friend out. She'd do anything to see Tea smile again.

Just like she used to...before this horrible thing happened to her.

"I'm so...sorry! I'm crying...all over...you." Tea sobbed out in between each sob.

"It's okay hun. I just want you to be fine." Mai soothed her again.

"You're...being so...nice!"

"Well, yeah, I'm one of your best friends, hun!"

"Yeah, but I barely answered your phone calls, and never called you back! I'm not the greatest of friends!"

"Maybe at the moment you're not because I can see that you're in pain and that you don't know if you should tell someone or if anyone will care if you do tell!"

"Then I'm like an open-book!"

"No it's just sometimes you try too hard to hide it from me." Mai smiled at Tea and pushed her back her her seat, abling Tea to sit comfortably. Mai looked through her bag and found a packet of tissues and held them out for Tea.

Tea smiled her thanks and took them. She reached out for the mirror she had saw on the head board and looked at herself. Her eye liner was slightly smudged and she definitely looked like a goth.

"Eesh, hun, like that you look like a goth in the face!"

"Well, it wasn't intended to look like that, you know."

Mai let out a soft laugh," Well, you better finish your breakfast. We'll talk while you eat and after this whole thing is cleared up I'll take you to school and write a note about you being late."

"Thanks but I was thinking of getting a detention so I won't have to catch up with anybody after school. I don't feel like talking to any of the guys." _Especially not Yami_.Tea thought, dryly.

"Okay, okay. But come on. Tell me already. All from the start!"

"Okay..."

_**Flashback:**_

_Tea smiled widely while washing the dishes, having told her mother to take a rest. Today Tea was going to do what she thought was the impossible for her! She was going to tell Yami about her deep crush on him._

_She had no idea what she was going to do if he didn't return her feelings. She hoped that wouldn't happen. Or if it did happen that he'd turn her down slowly and gently. Tea knew that Yami was excited about living by the side of everyone, not just being a mere darker half of Yugi anymore. He was practically free!_

_Tea's smiled widened even more, if it was possible. She remembered all the gangs adventures when Yami and Yugi were halves, Dark and Light, they shared. So many! And now that they were in separate bodies she had the feeling that more adventures were to come._

_She put away the last dish after drying them all and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Her bedroom seemed so bright and full of life! It was as if it was picking up on Tea's mood. Tea knew that when the actual moment came she'd become nervous and fidget around but she promised herself that she would tell him by the end of tonight._

_She rushed around getting into a pair of baby blue shorts, keeping on her yellow tank top which had a small bow on one of the thick straps and a design of Tweety on the front of it. She quickly looked under the bed for her favourite light brown boots, which she liked without the heels. She put them on and rushed to her dresser to brush her hair out._

_She smiled at her reflection in her big mirror. She had put on a bit of shimmery lipgloss. Her stomach was full of butterflies just from the thought of Yami._

Okay, Tea, cool off before you start to look out!_She thought._

_The door bell rang as she was going down the stairs and she felt her blush rise to her cheeks. She opened the door to see that the whole gang was there. She smiled openly at them all; Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Mai, Serenity, Duke, and most importantly, Yami._

_They all set off once she closed the front door. They were planning to go to the arcade where they usually hung out. Tea knew that in the arcade the only quiet place was by the rest rooms. She never planned to tell her crush that she liked him by a rest room since it wasn't the best of all the places she could name. But it was quiet and so it would have to do, is what she told herself. _

_Soon they were playing games and messing around. Yami was laughing, watching someone try to beat Tea at Dance Dance Revolution, unsuccessfully of course. As soon as Tea beat the guy at the game she quickly got off, ignoring requests for another competition from others, the little stage and beckoned Yami over to the rest rooms. _

_Her nerves did take over the excitement and she had to take a deep breath to clear her system of any negative options like running away._

_Tea turned around to look at Yami and smiled, making him smile and look excited. _He looks excited! What if he _does _feel the same way?! _Tea caught on thought running through her mind._

_"Yami, I have to tell you something. I--"_

_**:End of flashback**_

Mai looked shocked. She had always suspected that Tea had feeling for Yami and that Tea had guts, but not enough to tell Yami that she liked him!

"Oh my God! Tea, I'm so sorry!"

Tea smiled. She knew that she was slightly obvious on the part of hiding her crush on Yami.

"Mai, it's not your faut! It's no one's fault." Tea never liked when one said 'Sorry' for something that wasn't their fault when what they really meant was ' I feel your grief' or something along those lines.

"Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but you've _got_ to get to school."

"Okay," was all Tea said as she finished her fries. She had finished eating her burger by the end of her story. Putting her seatbelt back on she gave Mai the signal to step on the gas.

*

"Okay, hun, here you go. I'll pick you up after school, okay?"

Tea rolled her eyes," You're like a second mum." Mai laughed at that while turning on the radio in her convertible. _Let It Rock (Dirty)_ came on, making Mai bop her head lightly to the beat.

"Well, promise to let me help you get through this, 'kay, hun?"

"Sure, sure, but I really need to go now. Bye!" With that Tea got out of Mai's flashy car and slammed the door, watching her trully best friend drive away. Tea knew that now she had to put on her cold glamour on again in order not to break down.

Only, she didn't know that now there wasn't any old Tea Gardner to go back to. Just stay as the new Tea 'bad-ass' Gardner.


	5. 4:Fighting is a good nature

**Disclaimer: Ye know the deal! :I don't own the amazing show/manga called Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**A/N(1):** I know the last chapter sucked a bit ( a lot) but I'm hoping this chapter will seem better. But be happy that ye got two chapters in one day.

**A/N(2):** I was thinking of updating chapters every evening and on weekends (only Friday and Saturday) there'll be two, in the morning and in the evening. Oh, and I'll post notes notifying you if I won't update for some time and so on.

**A/N(3): **Reviews are meant to make authors happy. Some of the new ones didn't make me happy btu brought out 'anger management' problems! It was a bit mean the way you requested Kaiba! I'm taking my time. If I put Tea. G( Anzu M) and Seto K. as the main characters, well, then Kaiba will be a _MAIN_ character!

Title: _Love's Not What It Seems_

Chapter Four:

Tea confidently walked through the school's front doors. She was late and gave no damn about it. She quickly made her way to her first period class and waited for the bell to ring. She'd be able to bag the best seat by the window while everyone else tried making their way through the tough crowd.

She didn't bother to wait any longer for everyone to get out of homeroom and just walked into the room. She was having Trig. first with Yami as her partner. She wasn't particularly happy that he would most likely expect her to interact in stuff _(Don't think nasty thougths!)_ throughout the hour. She wasn't planning on being her usual self around this guy, the one who broke her down. But she wasn't going to be mean exactlty either. There might be a new Tea but she didn't want to be mean like some people.

Like Seto Kaiba, who just happened to come into the classroom in that moment.

As he looked closely at Tea he realised she looked way different. Her hair longer and darker. Her change of foot wear. Her look all together, making her being seem to have a slight darkness around her.

"Well, well, if it isn't the harpy-like cheerleader from the Loser patrol. Never seen you alone without the rest of ye losers." Kaiba always made those snide remarks which had always made her anger flare. But this time he'd be disappointed.

Tea smirked, not looking up at him but instead getting out a book and opening it to a page in the middle of it. She yawned just to make Kaiba angry.

Kaiba did seem a bit irked, disappointed most definitely since she didn't reply with her usual friendship lecture.

"Wow! Finally I don't have to hear your ever-so-cheery voice recite one of your friendship speeches!"

"Oh, Kaiba, I just got bored of that scene, not my thing anymore anyway. So brace this moment when I tell you that I'll probably never say those type of words again." Tea finally looked up at the young CEO. She noted that he looked different somehow as well. His hair was a bit longer, his bangs hanging over his eyes as per usual.

Tea couldn't decide if he just got taller or looked even _more_ mature than before. And not being the way she was before, Tea seemed to be gut-_full_ enough to ask about her curiousity, " Hey have you grown taller or do you just look more mature than you did before. Or is it..." Before she could finish her last sentence she bit her lip. She had been about to say 'Or is it that you seem hotter?'. It would have been embarrassing if she finished that sentence and no matter how much guts she had she wasn't gonna make herself vulnerable to Kaiba's teasing.

Kaiba looked surprised at the brunette's first statement but he quickly recovered his usual icy look. He glared when Tea's next sentence made him feel self-concious. But just like before he quickly got over the feeling.

He smirked then. He had a feeling of what the girl in front of him was going to say since she had abruptly stopped herself and hadn't covered the way she bit down on her lip. This put his alter ego in over-drive.

"Was that last sentence supposed to be what I think it was supposed to be?" Kaiba's smirk grew fonder as he had managed to make Gardner blush slightly.

"So what's it to you, Kaiba? Does that switch you to horndog mode?!" It was Tea's turn to smirk and watch a slightly flushed Kaiba sit down at the other side of the room.

" Don't flatter yourself, Gardner. Nothing you say in that way can make me feel like that. By the way, just so you know, I don't like brunettes." Kaiba got his favourite book out.

"Oh, so that means that you don't like yourself no matter how many time you seem to flatter yourself. Or is it the fact that since you must prefer blondes, next to a bimbo blonde you seem smart?!" Kaiba sent her a dead glare. Tea couldn't help but laugh at the CEO.

"Well at least if I were a girl I wouldn't dance like a slut!"

Tea's laughter stopped, which made Kaiba smirk, "_What_ did you just say to me?"

"Why I'm _sure_ that half the male population would be _so sad _if you ever quit!"

"You say one more thing like that about me and you'll be six feet under!" Tea stood up to look menicing but she looked so short compared to Kaiba, as he stood up himself.

"I think I look pretty good just six feet."

"Oh, yeah? You're way taller than six feet. What? Nearly eight foot five tall, maybe?!"

"Huh?" Why exactly were they talking about height when all he had wanted to say was ' Is today the day for dressing like a freak?'. Or he would have went with just ignoring Tea.

"Hmm, so how are the clouds up there? All basketball stars must be intimidated!"

Kaiba growled. He wasn't as tall as she was decribing, no comment about the 'intimidated' basketball stars from him, "Are you trying to insult me, Gardner?"

"Oh, you must be used to those," Tea was feeling like she had the better half of the fight, like she was slightly wearing Kaiba out with it.

Especially as he said, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, the day you get a nice comment 'bout yourself make sure to tell me so I can look out the windows for flying pigs!"

"Well, I'll be! You're finally using your mouth for better things than the friendship lectures! I thought I'd never see the day when you'd shut up about them!"

"Well, I know that no one'll live till the day you actually become nice!"

"Are you saying that I'm mean, Gardner?"

Tea blew a rasberry, "Oh, please! You're beyond the door labelled 'mean' !"

" I'm not mean, you're just a sissy!"

"Hmm," Tea said sarcastically," if I'm the only one who stands up to you, what must that make everybody else, then? Makes me curious!"

"No, I take it back, everybody else is a sissy. You're an idiot!"

"So you're only smart compared to 'idiots' and 'sissies' and not just bimbo blondes?" Tea wanted to laugh at the CEO's look.

He wanted to wring her neck! She was making him more and more mad by the second. But Tea couldn't stop, it was her nature to act like this now. After all, she wasn't the good little Tea she used to be who would have found anyway to stop a fight. She had the nature to start some now, and get the best of it.

"Don't get carried away from the real point of why I even bothered to look at you, Gardner."

"Oh, right, well, you stared 'cause you liked what you saw!" Tea stuck her tongue out at Kaiba, smirking her new smirk.

Kaiba blushed. He had thougth that Tea looked 'hot' in some new way. And he didn't want to say what he said next but he had to show Tea that she couldn't get the better of him,"Oh, please! I looked over 'cause of the unusual freak face that belongs to you!" He really did regret saying it as he saw Tea look slightly on the verge of tears. He never had to deal with crying girls, not even one's he was curious about, like Tea Gardner.

But then Tea knew she couldn't let the tears slip. She would do so when she was at home, safe in bed at night, where no one'd hear her cry.

_Be strong, idiot!_ Tea mentaly smacked herself. Retrieving her cool she said, "Oh, that's the best insult you can come up with?" Tea smirked, having all the sadness clear from her body. It was like when she was with Kaiba, she didn't have time to concetrate on the sad bits and bobs of life and just had time for fun in a fight or argument.

"Well, it's not my usual funny type." Kaiba's eyes bore into Tea's head, even though she could see exactly where he was looking, wanting to see what the hell was inside the girl's mind.

"Yeah, hilarious! You must be pissing yourself from all the laughter."

"You could say-"Tea interrupted, making Kaiba frown a bit.

" A regular stand-up comedian!" Now she had to laugh, even though it wasn't that funny, but she had seen Kaiba's expression and _that_ _was_ funny. Annoyed as always with her.

Then he smirked, trying to make Tea feel intimidated somehow. He knew she had always felt self-concious when he smirked his trade-mark smirk, as if he were a pervert or something.

"But how funny your jokes are, the crowd would throw rotten vegetables and fruit at you, boo-ing all the way!" Now Kaiba's smirk was wiped off his face.

"If you're trying to say that my jokes aren't funny at all, then you better think again." Kaiba crosseed his ams across his well built chest.

" Oh, you'd definitely win the prize of the 'Lamest jokes on earth' !"

"Oh, yeah? I bet my jokes are funnier than yours!" Now the fight was turning into child's play. To anyone else it might have looked like two seventeen year olds acting like children. And that's exactly what it looked like to half the classes students who had slipped in unnoticably while Tea and Kaiba argued.

"Go on, tell me a joke, then."

"Well, I can't just think of something at the top of my head! It has to come naturally to me, as it usually does!"

" Great excuse!" Another rasberry blew through Tea's lips.

Before Kaiba could respond the teacher came in.

"Alright class, settle down, I'll talk about that God damn racket before the class ends and some people will be visiting the pricipals office as a treat. Next time don't be so loud!"

Tea looked around and saw that nearly all the students were in the classroom already and that probably most of them had been laughing throughout the last bit of the fight.

Kaiba quickly sat down, followed by the rest of the class.

"Alright pair up everyone. I'll hand out packs that must be finished by today next week and you have to work together. So if your packs aren't back on Monday then you'll be docked marks for punctuality."

Tea looked through the classroom, trying to pick someone she could get on with while doing the assignment. Suddently she saw Yami waving at her but she pretended to not see it. _Just not Yami_.

But Yami was the only person she actually talked to in the whole classroom, except for Kaiba. But knowing Kaiba, he'd probably be finished in a day without anyone's help. And they'd never get on.

"Alright, class. I'll be nice this time and let you pick whoever you'd like to be partners with. Tea panicked. The student stood up, running around asking others for prtnership.

She saw Yami stand up and start towards her. She had no other choice now.

She stood up and was making her way towards the other side of the classroom but Yami caugth up to her," Hello, Tea. Would you like to do this assignment with me?"

Tea didn't want to look mean when declining her old crush but she didn't want to be stuck in a situation that she'd break down in.

"I, well, I'm sorta- I'm with Kaiba for this assigment!"

Kaiba looked up at the mention of his name and he had heard Yami's question and Tea's reaply most definitely.

**---Replies to some reviews-----**

To: Seethetruth :Well, are you _satisfied_?! Kaiba made a showing!

To: dino_go_moo : Is this long enough? Well, this is the longest I'm going to write. There'll be lots of chapters so... just go along with how long I made it in this chapter.

To: Everyone :Please don't send rude reviews! It's mean and gets me pissed beyond compare! Not a situation you wanna see me in!!!


	6. 5:This is the beginning of Torture

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.**

**A/N(1): **Okay, well, sorry to any reader that I got mad with my own temper but I was having a bad day, I was exceptionaly good natured in the morning but I saw the reviews after I got back from school where I found out something I never wanted to know. Sorry.

**A/N(2):** Kaiba's OOC.

**A/N(3):** Hope, you enjoy this chapter...

_Title_: Love's Not What It Seems.

_Chapter Five_: This is the beginning of torture.

"What?!" Kaiba exclaimed. He knew he had heard right but was Tea actually serious?

"You're picking Kaiba as your partner?" Yami thought that it was obviously out of line for Tea to partner up with Kaiba. She had, after all, said that she actually hated him.

"Well, he signalled for...me...to come over to...him. So I thought that it must be to ask me to be his partner." Tea said lamely. She was never good at lying, and this was probably one of the best lies she had ever told.

Kaiba smirked. He had a great new idea planned to embarrass Tea, his new, nothing to do with work, enemy. And as Tea caught the glimpse of Kaiba's smirk she squarmed under his icy look. But she also saw the amusement slightly wedge itself into the void of icyness in his eyes.

Kaiba turned fully towards Tea and Yami, "Gardner! I never signalled for you to come over to me. You must have mistaken some of my movement. But I never knew that you watched me! Eh, secret eye for the hot stuff?" He had taken the plunge into the dangerously cold water. He was afraid he'd stutter and that there'd be fault caught in his voice but he had delivered the lines perfectly as if he did so everyday.

Itwas his first day to say anything in the radar of 'hot', 'gorgeous', or anything like that. He knew that he had a few fans (fan girls), fan girls who would do anything for him in return of getting to go out with him. But he had never paid attention to any of that. He had a goal set in his mind and he worked for it. Worked for it hard.

But as he had let the words fall from his lips he realised that it wasn't that hard. Especially if you've got 'proof' for some of the words. And it was amusing watching Tea squarm from what he had said. It was as if the new Tea Gardner had awakened a new in him as well.

He seemed the same, nothing changed, just an addition.

More courage for saying some things.

He wouldn't take a dip in the very deep part of the water, if you understand what is being said by that.

"Kaiba! I-uh..what.. Just...er-Ahhh! You say that again and I swear you'll be six feet under!" Tea's face was like a tomato attached to her neck. She couldn't keep her cool and was afraid that showings of the old Tea would surface. Suddently the teacher was by her side, a Trig. pack in hand.

"Well, I see who'll be going in a group of three. Perfect, no need to pick." The female looked at Tea, Yami and then Kaiba. She quickly handed the pack to Kaiba and walked over to the next group of two.

"But miss! I didn't plan on going with Ka-" Tea cut herself off. She didn't wanna look rude infront of Yami, much less Kaiba. Nor had she planned on grouping up with Yami. But now she had no choice.

Especially when the teacher threw her a look that said 'Don't-say-anything!'.

Tea looked around and found everyone partnered up with one their own friends. Now she knew she was stuck doing some lame assingment with two guys she didn't really want to see at the moment.

"Well, class. There's more than half an hour left so get stuck in that pack." With that the teacher went back to her desk and sat down.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tea was chewing on her pencil, I horrible habit she had for s while. She was seated next to Kaiba with Yami on her left. Kaiba had been sending her death glares whenever their elbows had meet together, sometimes forcing Tea to grab hold of her elbows because of her funny bone reacting of a shoc going through her arm.

Tea had been stuck on a question for at least ten minutes, and it was driving Kaiba mad, seeing her just chewing on a damn pencil, 'thinking'.

"Gardner! If you have a problem with a question just ask and stop chewing on that forsaken pencil!" Kaiba whispered harshly. Tea jumped slightly, having gotten a little fright from the boy sitting next to her.

"I'll do whatever I want to do when I get stuck. Okay?" She recovered and tried to make an extra hard effort to try and figure out the question.

_The edges of a box are 4cm, 6cm and 8cm. Find the length of a diagonal and the angle it makes with the diagonal on the largest face._

_Where do they come up with this stuff?_ Tea was thinking too hard and knew that she wouldn't solve the question without help.

Yami looked over at Tea, worried that she hadn't written anything down at all for the past. He had been stuck on another problem, on the next page. He saw as he looked at her sheet that the girl was obviously stuck. Tea saw him looking and blushed. She didn't want to seem like an idiot. Not to Yami, even though he saw that she hadn't written anything for the past five minutes. And not to the class, by raising her hand and asking for help.

She blushed even harder when she felt Yami's arm brush hers. This was too much for her! She quickly looked down, avoiding anyone's eye contact.

She knew she'd have to have the first page finished by the end of the class, at the least. So what could she do except ask Kaiba for help?

"Kaiba. I need your...help..." Tea never believed that she'd say those words to the guy ever again. Though last time it was a life-or-death type of situation. A trigonometry problem seemed a lot worse to ask help for. In her point of view anyway.

Kaiba turned his head towards his left, "Are you really asking for my help, Gardner?" He smirked for the billionth time since they first had the fight when he had walked into the classroom.

"Yes. Now wipe that smirk off your face and help me!" Tea whispered a bit harshly.

"I don't know..." Tea panicked. She wanted to be finished with the God forsaken Trig. pack as soon as possible, and she didn't want to leave spaces blank because that's what her partner(s) were for. To help her out of it.

"Urgh...Please?" Tea knew that he wanted her to beg. And to look like an idiot. But she _looked_ and _felt_ like an idiot throughout any Trigonometry class. She didn't even know why she took it.

Kaiba also wanted to be finished with his pack as soon as possible, and for him it was possible to be finished by the end of the day but the group had to hand in their packs together.

"Why not ask Motou number two over there?" He saw Tea's eyes travel over to Yami.

"I don't wanna...disturb him, y'know."

"_Greeat_ excuse, Gardner." Kaiba rolled his eyes. But he scooted a bit closer to the girl next to him. He looked over her sheet and saw that she was still on the first one.

_Idiot! I'm on the sixth one_. Kaiba made a repeat of rolling his eyes.

"You must use Pythagorean theorem. The diagonal of the largest face ( 6 x 8 ) is_ m_," He took his pencil and quickly wrote down the solution. Or answer...

_m^2 = 6^2 + 8^2 = 36 + 64 = 100_

_m = 10_

"The diagonal of the box is _d_, and _d_ is such that :

_d^2 = m^2 + 4^2 = 100 + 16 = 116_

"The lenght of the diagonal _d_ is therefore..." He was didn't bother finishing his answer, instead writing the rest down: _√116 = 10.77 == answer :1_

"If the angle is _A_," _Cos A = 10 / 10.77 = 0.928477_

_A = 21.8° == answer: 2_

"Do you get it now?" Kaiba whispered, even though a load of the other students were loudly talking about their problems and theorems.

Tea looked everything over, and seemed to slightly panic. _What the hell is this?!_ Tea looked at Kaiba through her lashes. He was starring down at her, still waiting for her answer.

"Um...no?" Tea was surprised that she had told Kaiba the truth. _Ahh, he already thinks I'm an idiot!_

"Just move on to the other ones, I'll try to explain the theorem. Maybe at lunch, if I'm not busy."

"Okay. Um...thanks, I guess." Tea blushed again. She couldn't remember the last time she had thanked Kaiba, but whenever it was, it was a thank-you-for-saving-our-lives kind of thank you.

"Yeah. Whatever." With that Kaiba turned back around to his own sheet and returned to scribbling down the answers.

_He could at least have looked smug about helping me out. Again. But instead he goes all bipolar!_

"Class! Time's up, the bell will ring in just a few seconds so pack up." Then on cue the bell rang, a horrid shrill sound.

Tea quickly stood up and began gathering her sheets together, stuffing the whole pack into her bag. As she was in such a rush to get away from the two boys next to her she didn't notice one of her Trig assignment sheets flew out of her bag and landed on the floor just as she ran out the classroom doors.

Kaiba looked at the sheet and sighed. _What is wrong with her?She used to seem so careful before._ Kaiba rolled his eyes and bent down to pick up the sheet. He quickly scanned the sheet and saw how many mistakes Tea had made.

_Trig. is _not_ her subject!_

With that Kaiba stood back up and stuffed the sheet into his school bag and was soon out the classroom door. As he knew everyone was having the same subjects as last year he'd only see Tea at lunch or if he happened to pass her in the hallway. He chose to stick with waiting for lunch so he'd have more time to rub it in her face that she had gotten only one question right out of ten.

_And what was up with her when Motou no.2 asked her to be her partner?_

Kaiba quickly walked into his English classroom and found his seat, still wondering about Tea Gardner and her new aura.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tea ran into her Hisory classroom. She had to make a pit stop at the restroom and was late coming to class.

"Ah, nice of you to finally join us, . Please take your seat now." Her teacher directed her. She looked around the classroom and found the only seat availible. Right next to...

Joey Wheeler.

Joey Wheeler was usually the funniest in the gang and Tea felt a pang when she saw his broad smile. A smile that made him look like a goof ball. That was one of the thing she liked about Joey, him being a goof ball most the time, cheering mostly everyone up when they needed it.

Tea swallowed down a hard lump in her throat and started towards the seat which was at the back of the classroom.

"Hey, Tea! Great to see you again." Joey whispered as Tea sat down.

Not even three minutes passed before a note was thrown on Tea's table. She opened it and scanned the messy writing. She only knew Joey to have that type of messy hand writing.

**Hey! Missed ya durin da summer! Wat ave u been up ta?**

Tea sighed. She knew that this was gonna be one of the hard things to ignore. She only had one simple excuse: Sorry, I was paying attention to the lesson.

She knew that Joey wouldn't let it pass so easily. She had tried to ignore his notes once and so Joey had wrote so many that when she picked all of them up to throw them away they spilled over her arms.

She couldn't ignore them all this time. And she still wanted to associate herself with Joey, Tristan, Yugi, Serenity, and Duke. She still wanted to be with Yami, friends or more, she didn't know. It's just she was afraid of what he felt and about his new girlfriend.

Yami didn't know everything about the world, especially some girls who'd be stereotyped as a s**t or along those lines. He could have his heart broken in mere seconds. There was so much he still needed to learn about the Teenage World. People fought for life, got themselves drunk if nothing worked out, had pleasures whenever they wanted, and played the game that way.

Tea had only realised that she had lived in such a world when Yami broke her heart. She wasn't an innocent teen anymore. She was a girl who finally could _see_ with her eyes. The dangers of the world, how everyone fought, pleasured themselves with alcohol and drugs and more.

And she hated it.

____________________________________________________

Okay I hope you enjoyed, sorry for if you didn't.


	7. 6:And Then It Hit Me

Disclaimer: I'm sad to say that I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Review some more if you like this fanfic.

Title: Love's Not What It Seems.

Chapter Six: And then it hit me

There were six notes for far on Tea's table and more on the way. All from Joey. Tea had gotten tired and so wrote back saying that she was fine and so was her summer holiday. Joey then described his visit to New York. Serenity and Joey had been allowed to stay there the whole summer and were happy about it.

The bell finally rang, much to Tea's relief. She scooped her books into her bag and ran out the door before Joey got a chance to talk to her. She breezed through her classes quickly before the bell rang for lunch. She had only realized then how boring her classes were, not having realized it anytime before.

On her way to the cafeteria she pondered on where she should sit. If she sat on her own it would make Duke,Joey,Serenity,Tristan, Yami and Yugi suspicious about her motives. But she couldn't exactly sit with them either as they usually liked to go over their past adventures together.

Abruptly a stray thought flitted through Tea's mind. She was still in all her clubs and could sit at the table where the people from those groups usually sat at. She felt overwhelmed with herself at the moment for having escaped a moment of torment of sitting with the usual gang. Now she had somewhere to sit and a good enough excuse as to why to sit there. Simple. I had to catch up on the stuff they're currently talking about...

With that out of the way she entered the huge cafeteria and stepped into the line for the food. She had hoped that the school would keep the menu the same as last year because Thursday was pizza special, her current favorite. This brought old memories back to her. She imagined Joey getting into the line for pizza about five times. How Duke and Tristan usually battled him away from the food.

Soon she reached the top of the line and ordered what she first saw on the menu, not having studied it beforehand,"Um...the salmon sandwiches and bottled water, please." Tea noticed that her voice was finally standing out, sounding like she had hoped it would sound. She smiled her thanks to the cafeteria lady as she took her tray and ambled up to the table where most members from the school party comity sat.

"Oh, hello there, Tea!" A short girl with black hair smiled at the taller girl. Tea smiled back and said her own little hello. Corina was a nice girl from Tea's history class, algebra class, and dance club comity.

"Tea! Hi. We really need your help!" A tall girl with long wavy hair and big brown eyes turned quickly to look at Tea. The girl's name was Leighton, who was from America -something that Tea had envied about the girl before.

"Uh, yeah, I might be able to help..." Tea wasn't sure what Leighton was going to ask help with but Tea was sure that if she was not able to do then she'd come up with an excuse.

"We were told to come up with a great celebration for all the new comers. If it's going to be awesome then the comity can hold it every year. What do you think? We're in need of crucial ideas!"

Tea thought over the order they were given to make a party happen for all the new comers. It sure would make 'em feel more welcome then they already did from the millions of posters hanging around which said 'Welcome to a place where we call it home!',"Maybe, if we did some theme, or just a masquerade party..."Tea had always thought that the school lacked the talent to throw the kind of parties where everyone would be interested, which further on meant that she had always thought it appropriate to throw a party where people got dressed up and masked their faces.

"That is a great idea! Maybe a masquerade ball!" Corina's squeal echoed around the table. Everybody sitting around it nodded their head enthusiastically, thinking that a masquerade ball or party would definitely unwind the new students and make them feel more welcome.

"Well, then, let's vote." Leighton's voice made everyone think twice over about their vote,"We'll go from left to right. Tea, I presuming that you're voting for a masquerade party?" Tea nodded coolly, not wanting to show the excitement bubbling up inside her.

But her hopes were crushed when everyone else backed up to voting a masquerade ball.

"But think about it. There'll be prom at the end of the year. Not all the students would be thrilled to buy two dresses and tuxes. So maybe a costume masquerade party will be just what we need. If people want to dress up fancy then they can because they could go as some princess or something."

"Great thinking, Tea. We should definitely go for the party then. Right, so we all agree?" Leighton looked to everyone for a nod of agreement. Everyone was happy with the thought of dressing up in any costume they could.

"Well, then, we need to know who's gonna do what job for this party."

"I can go to the computer room and print off posters for the party." Lille, a petite girl, raised her hand and voiced her thought.

"That would be great. Pick someone to go with you. You should then go into the art room and do a design or something on the posters." At the prospect of doing something involved with art Tea quickly raised her hand and looked to Lille for permission to join her.

Lille gave Tea a warm smile,"Tea can come with me. We have art together today so we could use up that time for the given posters!" Leighton smiled at Lille and Tea.

"Now, I need two more people to set up a blog about it on the school web...Katelyn? Ayshea?" Leighton asked two average sized girls. Katelyn was a beautiful blond who was also in Tea's dance club. Ayshea had raven black hair and pale green eyes.

Both girls nodded and smiled,"So now, we need the informant group...That leaves Corina, May, Lucy and myself. Then we all meet up at the usual room after school to discuss the decorations. Well, have fun team!" Cutting off anything else Leighton might have said the bell rang shrilly, notifying every student that lunch was over.

Tea had barely noticed how fast the time had gone by before she was heading to the changing rooms. She was hoping that the semester would be concentered around soft ball for the year. She hadn't like volleyball last year because the volleyball was too attracted to her face.

As Tea stepped into the changing room a sock was thrown at her face. A girl ran up to her, looking really sorry.

"Ohmygoodness! I'm so sorry, I so didn't, like, mean for it to hit you in the face!" Tea glared at the girl who stood just a bit shorter than herself. Tea knew the girl since the girl, Kayla Krimsone, was the school's mean/bimbo girl. She may not seem it at first but if you got on her bad side you'd definitely see the mean girl in her.

"It's...fine,"Tea was trying hard not to lose her cool. She hated Kayla because she was called the best dancer in the school and she was so popular. Though come to think of it, Tea hadn't seen Kayla at the usual table she sat at -the populars table. She was a blond with blue eyes that everyone thought to be the cutest eyes ever.

"Well, okay then," Kayla bent down to get the sock which had plopped onto the floor and threw it at one of her many friends. It went on like that as Tea picked a spot further away from the bimbos to change.

She was finished while Kayla kept playing. She had stopped Serenity when the short girl came in to change and asked her something. Tea wondered why Kayla was talking with Serenity when the last time they were in school she had called her a skin colored smurf just because Serenity was shorter than her. Kayla was shorter than a lot of girls but nobody dared to call her one.

Tea walked out into the huge gym and immediately saw Duke and Yami warming up for a game of tennis. Tea had wished that it wouldn't come to tennis either, as she wasn't very good at it.

Duke turned around when he heard Serenity call out his name. As his eyes reached the short, brown haired girl he also saw a taller, more beautiful girl with brown hair standing a bit away from Serenity. Tea.

The tall boy smiled and walked over to Serenity," Wanna go over to Tea?" He wasn't really interested in the girl's reply so he quickly moved towards Tea. Before he was able to reach the girl the gym teacher came in and blew his whistle.

"Right, class, ye can start by taking out the nets and tennis rackets, then I'll break up you into teams." Everyone trudged over to the little store room at the end of the gym.

Soon everything was set up and the gym teacher, coach Carter, was choosing teams so that they could play against each other. Tea sighed, she was on the opposing team of Serenity and Yami. Serenity was very good at the sport and the team had other good players.

"Right, well, Gardner, Devlin! You're up against Krimsone and Motou." Tea saw Kayla squeal and run up to Yami.

What she did next was a surprise for Tea and it pained her to see it. Kayla wrapped her arms around Yami's neck and smashed her fake lips against Yami's. The tall tri- hair colored guy wrapped his arms around Kayla's waist, lifting her slightly.

Anger boiled deep in the pit of Tea's stomach. So this was who he had spoken of before. Was Yami so blind as to not see that Kayla Krimsone is a bimbo demon in a body of a human being. Of course he did not see it.

"Sucks, right?" Tea spun around to see Duke behind and to the side of her. Tea was unsure if she should tell Duke how it made her feel. He'd probably fall asleep."You might want to stop flushing, you're giving everything away!" With that Duke turned away and made his way over to the side of the court where Tea and him were to play against Kayla and Yami.

Tea was dumbstruck. Was she that transparent that everyone could see through her? She was sure to make it look nonchalant. But she failed when it came to some of her friends.

"Krimsone! Motou! Move your asses to your side of the court! I'll dock marks if I see that again!" Coach Carter yelled and then blew his whistle.

Tea reached her side of the court and took her place. Her side was going to serve first and knowing her she stayed back from the tennis ball and let Duke take it.

Duke made a clean serve and soon the game was rolling on steadily and Tea was surprised at how well she was doing so far. But of course, you can do something well for so long...

"Tea! Watch out!" Tea was brought out of her thoughts by Duke shouting out at her. She hadn't expected it to be anything important so she turned slowly and saw the racket flying towards her. She would have ducked if she had seen it earlier but it was too late and it smacked into her head. Hard.

"How the hell do you 'accidentely' swing a racket like that and let it go?!" Duke's furious voice was the last thing Tea heard before she blacked out while everybody surrounded her as she fell on her butt.


	8. 7:Solutions

**Disclaimer: Well, you should all know these disclaimers like the back of your hand but I'll repeat it anyway... just out of pure habit; I do not own this awesome manga/anime show so I am not taking credit for any of the recognizable characters. But I will take credit for the plot line and the few original characters (even if they have a small part in this.)**

**A/N: **Thank you all for the reviews! Now just go on and do as you please ( read).

**Title:** _Love's Not What It Seems._

**Chapter Seven:** _Solutions._

Coming around and finding yourself at the nurses' office wasn't what Tea would have expected. It wasn't so much of a serious injury. Just a tennis racket thrown at your head...

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright. I thought you'd never wake up!" Tea looked up from the bed that she was lying in and saw a curvy, blond haired woman staring down at her. "I'm the nurse by the way," she added as if it wasn't plainly obvious because of her uniform.

"Eh ...right." Tea sat up and swung her legs over the bed so that she could get up and get back to class. Before her toes could touch the floor the nurse firmly pushed her back down. What was it now? _Did I get a concusion! _

Trying to rid herself of her annoyed and sarcastic mood, Tea looked up at the woman again," Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, well, you've just got hit with a racket in the head! And since you've been unconscience for a while, I'm guessing that you've could have gotten a concusion..."

"It was a tennis racket! The worst it'll do is leave a bruise and bump!" Tea was getting really irritated with this woman and in less that ten minutes!

"I'm telling you, you've got to stay in bed!"

But Tea did not want to stay in a damn bed because that would mean free time on her hands. She made sure that she only had free time at home and nowhere else because she tended to tear up at those times when nothing presented itself to be done.

"Tea, your friends came over to see if you were okay. They said they won't leave without seeing you." Tea cursed her luck before she groaned when her mother opened her bedroom door. There may have needed to be a little warning for that...

"Who is it?" She buried her head into her pillow, allowing the tears to be soaked up in a messy manner. She knew that some of her make-up may have come out of the pillow case.

"Duke, Serenity and Tristan." Tea sighed with relief that neither Yugi nor Yami were mentioned. She admitted to herself that it was nice that some of her friends decided to pay her a visit as she had become a bit bored and put out just crying while her mum fussed about her and the 'pain'.

She lifted her head up off of the pillow and looked dazedly at the door where her mum stood at the frame. "Sure. Let 'em in." Her mother sighed with relief that her daughter wasn't going to push these friends away like she had once showed she had.

"Tea! Heard all about it! That chick can't even hit a tenis ball right." Tristan exclaimed once he pushed past Tea's mother. Behind him Duke and Serenity apologized to her mother, saying that Tristan was a little excited to see his friend. The tall boy came over to her, kneeling by her bed side.

"Who are you on about?" Tea uestioned though she had a faint inkling of who exactly threw the racket at her. Though, she didn't want to hear her friends go on about it. All she wanted to do was cry as if she were a baby who had their toy taken off was getting old and her throat was sore but she couldn't help it sometimes.

"Don't worry, there's going to be payback!" Tea twisted around so that she was on her back and facing everyone the right way.

"Tristan, maybe you should cool it." Duke smiled knowingly before closing the door once Tea's mother had left to go downstrairs.

"Mai said that she'd stop off once she got off work. I hope you're alright, Tea." Serenity said as she sat on the edge of Tea's bed. Duke went around the bed so that he could sit down on the other edge.

"Don't worry, we've got a plan set in motion. Mai helped so we won't take all the credit." Duke smirked as he looked at Serenity and Tristan. Tea was getting confused now, especially at the looks the others gave Duke in reply.

"What plan? And what for?"

"Tea, we've seen the way you looked at Yami before." Duke's tone changed and became soft. "Only an idiot wouldn't have noticed," he added while looking at Tristan. Tristan put his hands up defencively.

"Sorry, I don't go looking at everyone to see if they're staring at someone else!" He huffed but then turned serious. "Sorry I didn't notice sooner, T." Tea looked oddly at Tristan. He was being oddly sentimental, and she could barely remember the last time he was like this.

"What are ye on about?" She was hoping that they wouldn't say what she was thinking they'd say. It would not only be mildly humiliating but down right awkward. Especially as these people were her friends... People who would be able to tell if she was lying or not.

"We know that you... like Yami. And how hurt you are now." Serenity finished off in a whisper, as if afraid to say it aloud because her best friend may blow up from anger and humiliation. "Please don't deny it to us." She added softly as she looked down at her hands, twisting them around.

Tea looked away from the other two stares she received and convinced herself that there was no use in crying and humiliating herself more. But the tears still built up, threatning to spill over and down her face. She groaned at her weak self control and let them fall.

She felt a soft hand touch hers and she held onto it as if it would make everything better. This had once been what she longed for. To have friends who stood behind her to back her up on the decisions and mistakes she made. These were the people who would stick up for her when her problems got tough and that statement made her cry harder... Though they were tears of joy. Some of them at least.

And had she not been the one who always said it was better to stand right behind your friend, ready to catch them when they fall? She sure had changed since then.

She quickly wiped away the tears and said, "So what is this mastermind plan of yours?"

"Oh, that was the simplest thing to come up with and yet we needed Mai's help with it," Tristan admitted.

"We can wait for Mai and she'll explain with us. She'll also know what to do if you don't agree."

"I'm am _not _doing that!" Tea exclaimed after she heard what Mai had to say. The four best friends had waited little over five minutes for their other friend to get there but from the looks on her friend's faces Tea decided not to push the matter.

"But it's a great idea!" Mai tried to assure Tea. "And it'll be totally safe, I guarantee it."

"I'm going to tell you my answer one more time; _no_!" Tea tried to calm down, also attempting to hide her blushing face. It's not that the idea was totally appauling bit it did seem a bit desparate.

"But there could be great guys that you can meet." Serenity joined in with the hardship of trying to get Tea to agree.

"No, it's absolutely out of the question."

"Look, your mom even agrees. I asked her on my way up." Tea dropped down onto her fully made bed and shut her eyes tight.

"You...asked...my mother." It wasn't a question but a statement. Tea quickly propped her head up so that she was able to glare at Mai.

"Just in case. And by that I mean you have not to much to argue against."

"Do you know what this will make me look like?"

"No. So what will it make you look like?"

"Some desparate, needy, _stalker_!" Tea spluttered.

"Stalkers are people who-"

"I know what a stalker is, Tristan." Tes sighed, exasperated from all the arguing. She could see that they wouldn't back down until she agreed and she was becoming sick of the time wasted.

"Just try it. I'll make a deal with you; if within four months you don't settle on some guy you can stop it. Deal?"

"So you're saying that if I don't settle down with some guy before the four months are up I can delete my account on this meeting site?"

Mai nodded happily, hoping that this meant that Tea was finally giving up. "It sure means that."

Taking a few seconds to think to herself Tea contemplated what could actually happen; she could get over Yami and have a bit of fun. "Fine. But we keep the deal."

"Of course," was all Mai could say before she squealed. She knew that Tea would have cracked at one point or another but she was glad that it happened sooner than she had first thought. "Now, I've set up your account so I'll login in for you and you can go on whenever. I even added a few good catches so that you have nothing to complain about."

"Wait- you alrady made my account?"

"Yeah."

"Without waiting for my answer?"

"I guess. I would have deleted it if you kept saying no. But hey, time's a wasting, right?" Mai was hoping to laugh off the thing before Tea got really mad with her.

"We helped pick out some of the detail things," Serenity added as if it helped any.

"We hope you enjoy yourself..." Duke said as he began pushing Tristan towards the door. "Well, we better get going now. Give you time to adjust, ya know how it is." He smiled sheepishly while bending down to give Tea a hug.

Tristan pushed Duke out of the way and harrassed Tea with his bear hug. Serenity smiled sweetly when it was her turn and told Tea to take care. Mai just winked like her usual self and ushured everyone out of the room. She handed Tea a piece of paper and left along with everyone else.

Tea unfolded the piece of paper and looked down at the sentence that had been turned into a word. _MyFriendsRockMySocksOff_. How typical of the gang.

Tea rolled her eyes and pulled her laptop into her lap. She sat up properly and turned it on. She went onto the internet and typed in the website name that she had been given.

She quickly logged in and saw just how many 'good catches' Mai had added. Just over fifty guys that had something in common with her.

_To heck with this. I'd rather find a guy myself_.

A beep sounded as Tea went onto a search engine. She gave details of what she liked and then she searched possible candidates from her area and school. She found at least a hundred of guy sfrom her school who were free and willing to go out with her.

Then as she was about to log off one profile caught her eye.

'Don't know why I am here and with other, more important things to do, I should not be here.' Tea raised her eyebrows at the odd tagline. Discarding that she clicked onto the profile view and saw that there was no photo to identify the person with. She added them and went onto her own profile.

"A little change will not harm anyone." Tea muttered to herself as she changed her profile photo to one of her pulling off a dancing pose with dru ice all over the stage. The dry ice made it hard to make out Tea's face and she left the photo at that.

Next she edited her name. Not only was she going to be a laughing stock at school if her name was found out but she'd have to face it for a long time if her profile name stayed that way.

"What kind of name do these sites have?" Nothing that came to Tea seemed good enough. Silly ones like 'xxDancer_Babexx' seemed so balantly obvious and exposing. She needed something with a bit of mystery.

Something that still described her but not something that made it like 'UnrequitedPlans'.

Tea sighed and decided to go with it since she wasn't up to making up a different username when she wasn't even really interested in what she was going to be doing anyway.

She clicked on the save button and hoped that she would have some luck with this.

**A/N(2):** I'm sorry, I'm such a pig for not updating sooner but I don't have too much time since I have my holidays coming up and all my other stories. I'm sorry!


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